Examination of Force Control Development in Children Born Prematurely: A Pilot Study

Current literature has shown a link between prematurity and motor delays; however, limited evidence exists on the relationship of prematurity and deficits in somatosensory processing [1,2]. Roughly 40- 50% of preterm children meet the diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder (DCD), which is frequently associated with somatosensory deficits [3,4]. This study aims to characterize development of force control in young children and compare this among preterm and full term children. Participants between 6 to 72 months (33 full term, 40 preterm, corrected age for preterm) were recruited from the local community for this cross-sectional study. Children with severe motor and sensory impairment were excluded. Participants were videotaped while manipulating various sizes of standardized crayons to evaluate their ability to regulate force. Successful trials were defined by the child handling the crayon without breaks for 30 seconds. The force threshold was defined as the breaking force of the most fragile crayon the child could use without break. When adjusted for age, no statistically significant group differences in force threshold were found (p=.317). However, it was observed that 17.1% of preterm children had a force threshold more than one standard deviation higher than the control mean, compared to 8.8% of full term children. This clinically meaningful difference suggests that more children in the preterm group struggled with handling fragile crayons. Both groups displayed an increase in drawing time with age, though the group difference was not statistically significant (p=.345). Results showed that difficulty with force control may be more prevalent among preterm children though further research is needed. Outcomes of this study will be used to quantify the relationship between preterm birth and force control in early childhood. This will provide practitioners with the ability to intervene earlier in children with difficulties in force control.